Finding the Crystals
by TaylorKitt
Summary: This is a typical hero's journey of Link as he tries to find the crystals for his princess. The first chapter has some cursing and sexual themes, and then it gets calmer. It took four chapters to leave "Ordinary World," so if you like slow burns it's for you.
1. Chapter 1

Finding the Crystals

Chapter 1, An Ordinary World

"You know what your problem is?" My drunken uncle slurred. It was only a couple hours after sunset, and my uncle had more beer in his unkempt beard than most people have in a week. "I said: do you know what your problem is?" He didn't wait for a reply. "You never fucking talk. You can go 72 hours and not say one damn word."

"Uncle, not true"

"To hell it is." He took another long draft of his drink. "We need to find you a woman. That's what your problem is. You need a woman, son."

I sighed, exasperated. It was clearly time for bed, and just as I was about to say so he started to bang his mug on the tabletop. I rolled my eyes; he was going to sing.

 _Link, my son, a woman needs  
_ _A women to help spread his seeds  
_ _Someone to help with all his needs_

"You've already said needs, Uncle" I interrupted, hoping to stop this before he spiraled further and further into filth.

"I'm going to get you a woman when I go to town tomorrow. It'll be just what you need. And you can loosen the up."

"Of course," I agreed trying to placate him.

"Don't you belittle me, boy. I'm doing it. Now go buy your uncle another drink."

"Yes, Uncle." I replied. There was no way he was going to be able to get to the city tomorrow. I made my way to the bar, and was greeted by an old friend.

My buddy, Mike, raised his brow. "Another drink for the old man?"

"I'm afraid so, and I'll take one too. It's been a long day, and if he's going to be singing, it'll be an even longer night."

Mike chuckled. "You know if he keeps drinking, you'll be the one going to Hyrule right?"

"Yeah. I realized that after his third drink—an hour ago."

Mike laughed again, and handed me our drinks. "Well if he does make you go, I've got some cloths I've been meaning to sell. They're my wife's old purple cloth. She was planning to make a dress out of them, and then, well, you know. Anyways, I figure purple cloth would make me some rupees. Would you take them with whatever he makes you take?"

"Yeah, man. Of course."

He smiled. No one wanted to make the 2-day trek to the city if they could avoid it. "Great! I'll be by your house a bit after sunrise."

I smiled back, not knowing if he needed a response or not, and took the drinks back to the table.

"What would you even say to a woman that I brought home to you?" My Uncle asked surprisingly single-minded considering the alcohol.

 _What would I say?_ I had to admit that this was a good question as my areas of expertise included herding goats/cattle, milking cows, and archery. My uncle took my silence as an invitation to "teach" me something.

"The answer, my boy, is to compliment her. Always compliment. And not just her tits, like a real compliments." He paused as if to think. "Even if she has nice tits."

Sometimes it is hard for me to tell if my uncle is being serious or making a joke. After Mike's wife passed there were only 10 women in our town, and two were related to me. So I was pretty sure he was just drunk talking, but you never know. And honestly I wasn't entirely sure this was something I could ask my sisters.

"Are you even listening to me?" My uncle interrupted my thoughts.

Apparently he had been elaborating his point. "Yes Uncle—always compliment."

"Good, good. Now it's time for me to head home. Lead the way." He downed his drink, stood up, and we walked to our ranch.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2, The Goddess Crest

The barn cat woke me up by making way too much noise before sunrise. I put on my tunic and pants hoping the damn thing hadn't attacked any of our cuccos. I did not have time for that mess. I grabbed the nearest lantern, and walked out of the house towards the barn.

Luckily the cat was just stuck in the barn's rafters. I climbed up to rescue him and was bitten for a thank-you. As I dropped him to tend to my freshly made wound, I heard the bartender yelling for me.

"In here, Mike!" I yelled back.

"Look at you, sun hasn't even risen yet, and you're working while the old man is probably still drunk from the night before. "

"I don't doubt he is, but you're here early," I replied as I jumped down from the rafters.

"Well I figured you'd be up doing chores before you left for town, and you know," he said trailing off.

My friend's eyes were tired. Mina had died a year ago, and I bet he hadn't slept peacefully since. I briefly grabbed him by his shoulder, and smiled. "Well you're just in time to help herd the goats we want to sell," I said a third of me joking, a third of me wanting to take his mind off Mina, and a third of me really needing the help.

Mike laughed, "not today, bud. Some old guy puked all over my bar last night, and guess who has to clean it up?"

It was my turn to laugh awkwardly. I didn't realize he had puked. _Damn, old man._

"I do want to give you these to sell in town," and Mike took off his backpack and pulled out his purple cloth. I grabbed the cloth to examine them.

"These are gorgeous," I said running my hands through the fabric, feeling the cross stitch, "and the Crest of the Goddess, herself. You can't sell these."

"I can, and I mean to. Unless you have a couple purple rupees on you?"

I reached into my pocket wondering if I had even seen a purple rupee before. There was nothing inside. "That's a shame, but I'll get a good price for you, Mike."

"You better. See you in a week or so. Take care of yourself." We hugged.

"You too, Mike. Don't let the old man drink too much, and watch over my sisters when you have a second."

And with a wave he left the barn.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3, My family, My town.

I was able to get the goats, the family's old packhorse, and our dog ready for the trip to Hyrule all in about two hours after sunrise. Luckily my sisters came out to help clean the goats, and get the horse packed. The Goddess had blessed me with so much, but nothing more than my sisters. Lenya, and Lou were beautifully stubborn girls. Lou had horse sense, and at only 15 could run this farm by herself. She had given me a list of my starting bargaining price, and lowest price for each goat. And politely laughed when I tried to remind her of the daily chores to do while I was gone mainly because she had to remind me of some of the tasks. Practical, and beautiful, I loved and trusted her immensely.

Leyna was a different animal. Kindness and faith personified. She would sing and all the animals in the farm would come close to listen. Once the family went to the city for the Festival of Time, and Leyna sang and played the harp to a song inspired by Hylia Herself. Rumors said King Gaepora cried when he heard. She sang to our packhorse while she filled his pack with food, and what I think were a few strawberries. Thoughtful, and beautiful, I loved and treasured her immensely.

Soon it was time to leave and tell the old man goodbye. I walked into the house and woke up him. With a startle he woke up and groaned, "Link, my boy, I've gotten sick. Can you take 5 of our nicest goats to town to sell?"

"Yes, Uncle. I'll be glad to."

"Good. Good. Now make sure you take them to the Southern Temple to be blessed first. And take the girls too, they need to pay their respects."

"Yes, Uncle." The temple was only an hour or so outside of town, they could walk there, pay their respects, and be back by sundown. "And you owe Mike a few rupees after that mess last night."

He scoffed at me, "Get going." He will pay him back once the embarrassment wore off. I made one more search of the house to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. Cursing myself as I quickly grabbed the family bow and some Lou-made arrows, I went to find my sisters to tell them the news.

Leyna was over the moon to visit the Goddess, and I could tell Lou was happy too if not a little bit annoyed for her unexpected journey. She grabbed her own packhorse probably already formulating what to get from our town and the temple. I grabbed the lead of my horse, and Wolf, our dog, herded the goats out of the farm through the town towards the temple.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4, The Southern Temple of the Goddess

We didn't really have much of a town. There were mainly 8 families: four of us farmed and did livestock; a couple did building, carpentry, and repairs; one was our mayor/royal family representative; one family worked in medicine and plants. Each family would take a month or so to make sure our temple was beautiful and still honored the Goddess, and once a year the royal family would send their priests to do the same. There were also a few single people, like Mike he owned the bar & inn, and this old man we called the Sheikah who was a distance cousin to the King. The Sheikah mostly kept to himself, and hardly anyone saw him, except when it was his month to take care of the temple.

We quickly made our way through our town, called out the names of our friends as we saw them, but mostly just tried to cross quickly. Wolf did a good job of keeping the goats in line, and if you listened closely Leyna was humming an old lullaby as we walked. After about an hour we had arrived.

It is really hard to put into words how awe-inspiring the temple is. Legend said that the hero himself built the temple as a labor for his bride to prove his pureness of heart. The temple stands on a hill with walls made of marble that shines like the sunrise. A likeness of the Goddess faces Hyrule, her arms stretched out in love, and her face terrifying and beautiful. Over the years families have planted trees, flowers, and vines, and during fall nights fairies dance throughout the hero's and our own hard work. We stopped at the bottom of the road to gaze at the temple

"Tell us the legend, again, Link," Leyna asked.

"I've told you a thousand times." I responded playfully.

"Yes, but she's written a song and wants to make sure her facts are straight," said Lou shortly.

With a deep breath I started, "They say one day when the hero was in the sky talking with the Goddess-"

"The sky or Skyloft?" interrupted Leyna.

"I do not know. The Goddess is so fickle, she could have plucked him out of time itself." Both his sisters looked up as if they could see Skyloft. "But anyways, while the Hero was pleading with the Goddess for her heart, She threw a seed through the clouds, and tasked him to build a temple surrounding this soon-to-be-mighty tree. After seven years of searching—"

"Can you imagine looking for something for seven years?" This time it was Lou who interrupted.

"No," I responded, "but remember the legend of the catching of Lord Jabu-Jabu? The Hero was nothing if not patient."

"And courageous," piped in Leyna.

"Yes there can be courage in patience, but the legend goes after seven years, the hero took rest under a seemly normal oak tree, and in his rest had a dream given by the Goddess telling him to wake up, he had found the seed that was now this mighty tree. The Hero woke up in the middle of the night to find the strangest sight. The tree was on fire! Playing his ocarina he called upon the rains, and the winds to save his Goddess's tree, but after some time he realized the fire burned, but the tree was not damaged. The Hero called to his Goddess with joy. And she came to him and said—"

"'See my hero, I have blessed this tree with eternity. The rain you called will pool into a pond that will forever give this tree life, the wind you called will forever blow to give the fire life, now build me an alter from earth so that My Spirit may linger here always,'" finished Lou. It was considered improper from men to speak for the Goddess even in retellings.

"Thank you, Lou. Now let us pay our respects. Wolf watch the goats and our horses; we wont be long."

After we climbed the hill, Leyna paused and said, "I'd like to sing my song before we enter."


End file.
